I'm fairly new to Savage Worlds and am looking at various setting books. It is a bit confusing because some don't need the SW rules, some have a plot point campaign and savage tales, some have both a player and GM book.

Is the following true?

Most settings have the player section, GM section, a plot point campaign, additional standalone Savage Tales, yet still require the base SW rules.

Pirates of the Spanish Main and Solomon Kane have the player section, GM section, a plot point campaign, additional standalone Savage Tales, but do not require the base SW rules.

Deadlands Reloaded has separate player and GM books, neither of which include a plot point campaign nor Savage Tales, yet still require the base SW rules. Plot point campaigns and Savage Tales may be found in separate products.

This is probably begging for a spreadsheet or something, haha. But is the above true? Deadlands:HoE is more like the first or more like Deadlands Reloaded? Also I'm not counting the separate PDFs for players and GMs, nor cases where there is a print version of a combined player / GM guide and a separately available player guide in print (does such a beast exist)?

The only two setting books out there that do not require the basic rules are Pirates of the Spanish Main and Solomon Kane. That was due to licensing requirements, and it's something you're unlikely to see again.

Deadlands: Reloaded was split into the two books to make it more affordable for the fans, and that is also an unusual route. Most players' guides are PDF-only products that are trimmed from the main, full book.

Deadlands does not include a single Plot Point Campaign, but there are several available separately at this point. Hell on Earth: Reloaded follows a similar model and does not include a Plot Point Campaign in the base book.

The only two setting books out there that do not require the basic rules are Pirates of the Spanish Main and Solomon Kane. That was due to licensing requirements, and it's something you're unlikely to see again.

Cool. I prefer the separate rules so that's great. More room for setting-specific content (or, if not, helps lower costs) and makes it abundantly clear what is being added to the base rules for the specific setting.

jpk wrote:

Deadlands: Reloaded was split into the two books to make it more affordable for the fans, and that is also an unusual route. Most players' guides are PDF-only products that are trimmed from the main, full book.

Will Deadlands: Hell on Earth follow that lead? I ask mainly because it is Deadlands related and, as you note below, HoE shares the lack of plot point with Deadlands, at least.

jpk wrote:

Deadlands does not include a single Plot Point Campaign, but there are several available separately at this point. Hell on Earth: Reloaded follows a similar model and does not include a Plot Point Campaign in the base book.

I haven't looked around, but I'm assuming there won't be a PPC available with HoE's launch, right? Any Savage Tales, at least? I'll poke around, I'm sure I just haven't looked very hard.

Thanks a ton for taking the time (on a holiday weekend Sunday, no less!) to answer my questions.

Hell on Earth: Reloaded is one of the "more-normal" consolidated books. There aren't separate printed Player's and GM's books. Like Deadlands: Reloaded, there's not an included Plot Point Campaign in the base setting book. I do believe there's to be one in the planned Companion, though._________________Joel Kinstle
Pinnacle Entertainment, www.peginc.com

JPK has given you one of his (rare) clear answers and is spot on for what he's covered. (That last part isn't surprising, what with his insider position. )

Most of the Licensees have the setting in a single book, often with a Plot Point Campaign, or at least an excellent adventure generator and some good GM inspirations for a campaign. One of the notable exceptions is Hellfrost, which has three books (Players, GM, Monsters) and a ton of individual supplements (locations, adventures, and rules expansions) - but Wiggy's baby is good enough to support that model.
There are settings for pretty much every genre and style you might want to play, and fan supplements for almost all specific settings that no publisher has converted. So, whatever you want to play, there's probably a Savage document to make it happen; and the community around here will help you make it happen for your home games. _________________"Got a problem? I've got the solution: Rocket Launcher."
"Not against a Servitor."
"... We're all gonna die."